Meeting: Advancing Gender Justice in conflict-affected countries
22 March 2007
The Minister for Justice and Constitutional Development, South Africa, Mrs
Brigitte Mabandla, in collaboration with the Swedish Government and the
Partners for Gender Justice, are hosting an Africa Regional Meeting on Gender
Justice at the Cape Town International Conference Centre.
The two-day meeting, which commenced Thursday, 22 March 2007, ending Friday
23 March 2007, received overwhelming positive response and support with the
attendance of Ministers and Deputy Ministers of Justice and Gender and other
individuals representing governments from various countries in Africa. Other
delegates include representatives from the United Nations, international
organisations, local non-governmental organisations and Civil Society that play
an important role in promoting and protecting the rights of women and
children.
The meeting over the next two days will focus on three priorities: joining
Gender and Justice, strengthening regional co-operation and identifying best
practices. The programme will allow for open, constructive and broad-based
discussions that must build on the findings and recommendations of the previous
conferences and meetings. It is an initiative aimed at strengthening solidarity
and building capacity in the Africa Region.
Addressing the conference, Minister Mabandla reiterated the commitment of
the Department and the Partners for Gender Justice in making the gender justice
concept a successful one in contributing to the New Partnership for Africa's
Development (NEPAD) and the renewal of the Continent. The Minister encouraged
the guests to share experiences and thoughts on how to best identify gaps,
challenges and opportunities to further promote gender justice and the
participation of women in all aspects of democratic life. "An essential
ingredient in advancing the gender justice agenda is to enhance co-operation in
both regional and international levels and strengthening solidarity within and
among countries in Africa," she said.
According to the Minster, important lessons are to be learned from women in
countries that have gone through or are going through transition. Here she
focused on Liberia's road to recovery and the progress it has made thus far to
combat gender based violence and she was proud that South Africa played a vital
role in this process. She furthermore stressed the importance of all
stakeholders in resolving conflicts, in particular the women living in those
communities, in mediating the future and promising security and stability in
post-conflict situations.
"I am resolute in my belief that people, especially women, living in
communities torn by conflict and violence are our best teachers in moving
forward" she said. For this reason, a large presence of non-governmental
organisations (NGOs) and civil society were invited to ensure that this process
will be enriched by the experiences and knowledge of these women and men.
Ms Cecilia Wigstrõm, Member of Parliament and Special Representative on
Gender Justice of the Swedish Minster of International Development
Co-operation, in her address said that social and gender equality are not goals
in themselves, but benefit society as a whole and are essential to long-term,
sustainable development. She emphasised that the term "Gender Justice" means
much more than courtroom justice for crimes against women and girls. "The
concept also includes equitable treatment and participation of women in the
negotiation of peace agreements, in the creation and administration of new
governments as well as the enjoyment of equal participation and of
opportunities in all aspects of society," she said.
Ministers and representatives from different countries followed with their
country statements. Country representatives from countries such as Angola,
Burundi, Cote dâIvoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia, Namibia, Rwanda,
Sierra Leone, Southern Sudan and Sudan gave meaningful insights into their
countries' unique situations. Mrs Prata, Deputy Minister of Justice, Angola,
confirmed that her country is experiencing great difficulties as a result of
post-conflict situations, following the civil war which lasted for almost three
decades and ended four years ago. The country has come a long way with
constitutional establishment of equal rights between women and men and various
other legislation that have been approved in order to protect various social
groups and ensuring effective equality between the genders.
However, "there is still a relative inequality between legal equality and
real equality," the Deputy Minster emphasised. On the same note, Mrs Francis
Johnson Morris, Minister of Justice and Attorney-General, Liberia, indicated
that the country had done a lot in combating gender-based violence, on its road
to recovery. The Ministry for Justice and Constitutional Development and the
Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs will jointly transmit the summary of the
conference conclusions and recommendations to the Secretary-General and the
President of the Security Council so that it may be taken into account during
the Council's open debate in the seventh anniversary of the United Nations
Security Council (UNSC) Resolution 1325.
Enquiries:
Mr Zolile Nqayi
Cell: 082 898 6483
Issued by: Department of Justice and Constitutional Development
22 March 2007
Source: Department of Justice and Constitutional Development (http://www.doj.gov.za)
